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Environment, Supply Chain, Trade

The joint venture will furnish the best-of-breed apples in as many as five different varieties in the next three years for apple aficionados in India

IG International has entered into a joint venture with Engin Tarim, the largest one-piece apple manufacturer in Europe. This accord will establish the new joint venture, IG-EnginTarim, as one of the prime planters of apple varieties in India. The partnership hopes to nurture and cultivate 50,000 tonne of the best-of-breed apples in five varieties over the next three years. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be the home for the production of these apples. Since these locations would provide a suitable incubator for cultivating superior varieties as they furnish compatible climatic conditions.

Engin Tarim has entrenched its reputation in Europe as the stewards of the apple business. The inherent ethos of the Turkish apple producer is to be environmentally friendly, technologically capacitated, and carry a modern outlook. A production capability of 55,000 tonnes of first-rate apples and a depot that can stock 17,800 tonnes of apples coupled with novel protective cultivation methods has earned the brand a Global GAP and Good Agriculture Certification.

Acclaimed as the leading fresh fruit importer in India, IG International is entrenched with a renowned reputation for more than 50 years in this market segment. The company’s organised and strategic sourcing system, augmented by a seamless supply chain with a well-connected overseas procurement network, enables them to import best-of-breed fruits from 22 different countries.

The joint venture will furnish the best-of-breed

Company News, Trade

The company currently exports a range of fresh vegetables to Western Europe, Australia and the Middle East

Namdhari’s Group, one of India’s leading agri-production companies is expecting to increase its exports business from around 2500 MT in FY 22 to 3500 MT in FY 23. Namdhari’s has established its presence as a significant player in quality seeds for international and domestic markets and fresh fruits and vegetables for exports. The company currently exports a range of fresh vegetables to Western Europe, Australia and the Middle East and will be adding new products as well.

Namdhari Seeds has also expanded its research and sales activity in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia in South East Asia and the Middle East countries. They are one of the very few seed companies in India which have grown locally and expanded internationally.

Namdhari’s grow strawberries, blueberries, personalised sized and seedless watermelons, a variety of melons, speciality vegetables like lettuce, baby vegetables, micro-greens, orange-flesh sweet potato, butternut squash, a variety of tomatoes, gourds, cucumber, chilli and okra among others. The company has a 200-acre farm in Bidadi, near Bengaluru houses Namdhari’s R&D centre. The R&D department in Namdharis houses molecular biology, tissue culture, and plant pathology labs. Additionally, the company has research and trial stations in different parts of the country. More than 30 scientists are employed in this department.

The company currently exports a range of

Live Stock

The product is formulated with a unique combination of active ingredients, including an insect growth regulator

NEOGEN Corporation announced recently that it has added a new product to the trusted Prozap insect control line.

Prozap Protectus Pour-On Insecticide – IGR is a ready-to-use triple-active formula for use on beef cattle and calves that kills chewing and sucking lice, horn flies, stable flies, horse and deer flies. The product is formulated with a unique combination of active ingredients, including an insect growth regulator (IGR), adulticide, and a synergist, which provides cattle with relief from infestations and kills louse eggs before they hatch, providing season-long control of lice in one application.

The formula, which contains 3 per cent diflubenzuron, 2.5 per cent piperonyl butoxide, and 0.5 per cent lambda-cyhalothrin, is applied along the back of the animal being treated utilising a graduated applicator gun.

“We are incredibly excited to offer this new, premium insect control product to producers,” said Elizabeth Wonsowski, NEOGEN’s Ruminant Product Marketing Manager. “The formulation of the new Prozap Protectus Pour-On product provides beef cattle producers with a unique option compared to existing products currently on the market and will help minimise cattle handling, time, and labor costs associated with treatment.”

NEOGEN offers a complete insecticide product portfolio for farm, home, and ranch settings, including products for horses and livestock within barns, stables, kennels, and more.

The product is formulated with a unique

Agrotech, Finance, Start ups

The agritech startup works with farmers from across the state, ensuring fair prices and supplying pure, traditional and wholesome farm produce to the world

Dehradun-based agritech startup Valley Culture has raised funds worth Rs 2 crores from TMRW Network. The agritech startup works with farmers from across the state, ensuring fair prices and supplying pure, traditional and wholesome farm produce to the world. Valley Culture works with over 4000 farmers across the state of Uttarakhand of which the majority are women giving hope and a lifeline to more than 600 widows.

Founders Shikha Prakash and Robin Nagar plan to build a complete Farm to fork ecosystem, to help Himalayan farmers get better prices, build market linkages & direct access to customers. Also, they are steadfast and determined to promote a healthy lifestyle by reviving the traditional foods of Uttarakhand. The startup targets Rs 100-crore turnover in the next 18 months.

The agritech startup works with farmers from

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides

Shinwa is an insecticide and Izuki a combination fungicide

Insecticides (India) in collaboration with Nissan Chemical Corporation launched two new crop protection products Shinwa and Izuki for Indian farmers. Shinwa is an insecticide by Nissan Chemical Corporation, Japan and Izuki, a combination fungicide developed in technical collaboration with Japan’s Nissan Chemical Corporation.

Shinwa (Technical: Fluxametamide 10 per cent w/w EC) effectively controls the lepidopteran pests and thrips in a variety of crops. The product provides better control of pests with a quick knockdown effect and a better duration of control than other available insecticides on the market.

Izuki (Technical: Kasugamycin 6 per cent + Thifluzamide 26 per cent SC) is a unique broad-spectrum fungicide combination of two molecules with excellent prophylactic and curative properties. It protects paddy against diseases such as sheath blight and blast.

Shinwa is an insecticide and Izuki a

Agro Universities, R&D

The first instalment of Rs 40 lakh has been given for the procurement of equipment

The Department of Food Science and Technology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), has been granted an amount of Rs 58 lakh, under the scheme ‘Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST)’ funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, to strengthen the research facilities in the Department of Food Science and Technology, PAU.

Dr Poonam A Sachdev, Principal Food Technologist (Vegetable) informed that they have received the first instalment of Rs 40 lakh for the procurement of equipment.

The first instalment of Rs 40 lakh

Acquaculture, Agrotech, R&D

The peptide-based diagnostic tool has been developed by scientists of Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST)

Scientists have developed a handy diagnostic tool that detects an aquaculture pathogen known as the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). The peptide-based diagnostic tool by scientists of Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has been granted a patent on March 31, 2022, as an alternative biorecognition element.

Infection caused by the WSSV to the shrimp Penaeus vannamei results in a huge loss of crop. This high-value super-food is susceptible to a wide range of viral and bacterial pathogens and the probability of occurrence of infections is rather high. Improved nutrition, probiotics, disease resistance, quality control of water, seed and feed, immuno-stimulants and affordable vaccines play an important role in enhancing the production. Technologies for early and rapid detection of pathogens on the field will help fish and shell-fish farming which provides significant export revenue to the country which is a leading supplier of shrimp to the US. 

Dr Prabir Kulabhusan, Dr Jyutika Rajwade and Dr Kishore Paknikar developed a lateral flow assay using gold nanoparticles for easy visualisation of the results. Instead of using poly-/mono-clonal antibodies in assay development, the ARI scientists selected twelve amino acid-containing peptides from a phage display library by biopanning. This was a time- and cost-saving approach, eliminating the need for immunization of laboratory animals to obtain the antisera. With the use of peptides, cold-chain requirements for storage are reduced and the assay becomes production-friendly. 

The inventors have published this research in Applied Microbiology & Biotechnology and the Journal of Molecular Modelling. ARI PhD student Snehal Jamalpure-Lakka presented this idea at the National Bio-Entrepreneurship Conclave (NBEC)-2021 and was awarded. 

The peptide-based diagnostic tool has been developed

AgroPolicy, Australia, Middle East countries, Textile industry, Trade

Goyal was speaking on the sidelines of the news trade agreements in the textile sector between India, Australia and the UAE

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal said that new Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreements with Australia and the UAE would open infinite opportunities for the textile industry. He said that Indian textile exports to Australia and the UAE will now face zero duty and expressed confidence that soon Europe, Canada, the UK and GCC countries would also welcome Indian textile exports at zero duty.

Goyal was delivering the Keynote address at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the ‘Confederation of Indian Textile Industry- Cotton Development and Research Association’ (CITI- CDRA) in New Delhi today. The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu was the chief guest at the celebration.

The minister mentioned that trade agreements would help in increasing exports from labour-intensive industries. He added that India must also be open to receiving new technology, rare minerals, raw materials which are in short supply in India etc. from the world at reasonable costs. This will only increase our production, productivity and quality, which in turn will increase demand for our products all over the world, he said.

Goyal also said that the Indian textile industry has the potential to achieve $100 billion in exports by 2030.

He applauded CITI-CDRA for working towards developing a robust cotton ecosystem by directly engaging about 90,000 cotton farmers. The minister observed that more than just fibre, cotton has been an integral part of Indian culture, lifestyle and tradition.

Goyal called upon Indian cultivators to adopt new technologies and global best farm practices. He spoke of the AI technology that is enabling farmers in Australia to control spraying operations, as the cotton crop is sensitive to spraying through data-driven decision making.

Goyal was speaking on the sidelines of

AgroPolicy, Seeds

Hoarding of seeds have pushed up the prices of soybean oil

Inspections have revealed very large hoardings of soybean and mustard seeds in the Dewas, Shajapur and Guna districts of Madhya Pradesh. These seeds were much above the stock limit prescribed by the government. Hoarding of seeds have pushed up the prices of soybean oil. The State Government has been asked to step in to take necessary action under the EC Act, 1955.

In Maharashtra and Rajasthan, large quantities of edible oils were found more than the prescribed quantities of the control order. Wholesalers and big chain retail outlets were the main violators. The state governments have been requested to take corrective measures as per the relevant sections of the EC Act.

Inspection is ongoing in the remaining five states. The state governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have also been requested to ensure that the supply chain is not affected while taking action under EC Act.

Hoarding of seeds have pushed up the

AgroPolicy, R&D, Textile industry

Urges for steps to be taken to guide the farmers through better research and by adopting best practices

The Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu called upon all stakeholders to make concerted efforts to improve cotton yield and productivity in India to enhance farmers’ incomes. Expressing his concern over the low yield of Indian cotton compared to other major cotton growers in the world, Naidu said that steps must be taken to guide the farmers through better research and by adopting best practices.

Naidu called for increasing the global competitiveness of Indian cotton textiles and “capitalise on our traditional strengths, shift to modern agronomic practices and consolidate our position as a global leader in the cotton industry.”

Noting the importance of the textiles sector as the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture, Naidu emphasised improving farm productivity, increasing mechanisation, upskilling textile workers, and hand-holding small firms to give a boost to the sector. Naidu also suggested diversifying into speciality cotton such as the extra-long staple (ELS) cotton and organic cotton.

The Vice President was inaugurating the CITI-CDRA Golden Jubilee Celebrations from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) is a leading industry chamber of the textile sector in India and the Cotton Development and Research Association (CDRA) is the extension arm of CITI, undertaking various seed development and extension activities in the cotton sector.

Shri Naidu expressed his concern that despite being the largest cotton producer (23 per cent) in the world and having the highest area under cotton cultivation (39 per cent of world area), the yield per hectare in India remained at a low of 460 kg lint per hectare when compared to the world average of 800 kg lint per hectare. To address this, he called for improving the planting density, taking up mechanisation of cotton harvest and giving a thrust to agronomy research.

He said, “We need to improve our seed technology, increase yield, adopt global best practices, produce clean and high-quality cotton and brand it better to improve the farmers’ income.”

The Vice President noted that while India has a strong global footprint in cotton yarn, it has to improve its competitiveness in fabrics and apparel. He called for hand-holding small firms and upskilling textile workers to give a fillip to the sector. He said government schemes such as the Amended – Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (A-TUFS) and SAMARTH (Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector) are aimed at achieving these objectives.

On this occasion, Shri Naidu conferred awards to excelling cotton scientists and farmers in CITI-CDRA Project Areas. He also released a Coffee Table Book – ‘Millennial Shades of Cotton’ at the event.
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, T Rajkumar, Chairman, CITI, PD Patodia, Chairman, Standing Committee on Cotton of CITI-CDRA, Shri Rakesh Mehra, Deputy Chairman, CITI, Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Prem Malik, Co-Chairman, Standing Committee on Cotton of CITI CDRA and other dignitaries were present during the event.

Urges for steps to be taken to

Agrotech, Inputs

The company has achieved a historical milestone of 13,000th tractor roll out in FY’22, just two years after its grand Indian market debut

Solis Yanmar is one of the world’s leading tractor brands that delivers pioneering technologies for supreme customer satisfaction and remains synonymous with toughness, durability as well as performance. Following an extraordinary approach to ensure ‘Future is now’ for farmers, Solis Yanmar has proudly achieved a historical milestone of 13,000th tractor roll out in FY’22, just two years after its grand Indian market debut.

Since its inception, the flagship brand of International Tractors Ltd. has continued to capitalise on 100 years of Japanese technology to remain 100 years ahead and has been expanding its dominance in the toughest of advanced agriculture markets. Solis Yanmar already has been No1 tractor brand in 7 European countries.​

Speaking on the new milestone achievement, Raman Mittal, Joint Managing Director, Solis Yanmar, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to share that all our hard work over the last few years built a strong platform for us to achieve historical milestone of 13,000th tractor roll out in just two years of Indian market presence. Our joint venture with Yanmar continues to be fruitful and we are well positioned to capitalise on the 100 years heritage of Japanese technology and will keep innovating for 100 years ahead.”

The company has achieved a historical milestone

R&D

MoU to add strength to Erisha Agritech’s design and development of advanced powertrain systems and components for electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells

Erisha Agritech , a Rana Group Company, has entered into an agreement with The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), towards design and development of advanced powertrain systems and components for electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells developed under Erisha Agritech Private Ltd. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked to this effect between the two companies.

Erisha Agritech Private Limited is India’s fastest growing agri-equipment and machinery company, and has brought to the market a wide range of agricultural tractors, combine harvesters, implements and other equipment and machines of latest technology and energy efficiency. Meanwhile, The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is a leading automotive R&D organisation in the country set up by the automotive industry with the Government of India.

Sudhir Rana, Director Operations – Erisha Agritech says, “The MoU with The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is a major step for us, as it would immensely benefit the design and development projects we undertake. The concept of design and the development of advanced powertrain systems and components for EVs, and also hydrogen fuel cells we would work on would actually be propelled to a whole new level with the agreement. Erisha Agritech is happy to have the support of ARAI in our upcoming endeavors.”

As a technology company, Erisha Agritech had made a mark at the Krishi Darshan Expo, organised in Hisar in March, 2022, by unveiling its fully indigenous electric tractors, and agricultural drones.

MoU to add strength to Erisha Agritech’s

Agro Universities, Agrotech, IT, R&D

The MoU will focus on Academic Programmes in Education Technology Management and Technology Management in Agriculture

The ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Hyderabad.

BD Phansal, Joint Director (Administration) & Registrar, ICAR-NAARM and Dr Devesh Nigam, Registrar, University of Hyderabad signed the MoU on the behalf of their respective organisations.

Prof BJ Rao, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad stated about the renewal of the MoU with the Academy for the 4th time since 2010 in implementing the Academic Programmes on Education Technology Management and Technology Management in Agriculture.

Dr G Venkateshwarlu, Joint Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad highlighted the importance of the MoU in continuing the academic programmes being offered by the academy and the progress made over a period of time.

The MoU will focus on Academic Programmes

Agro Universities, Agrotech, R&D, Sustainability

The study will help in designing microbial methods to improve soil shear strength at the field scale to protect the soil from erosion in hilly areas and during geo-disasters

IIT Mandi researchers are working towards developing sustainable techniques for soil stabilisation using a harmless bacteria called S. Pasteurii that hydrolyse urea to precipitate calcite. The process does not involve hazardous chemicals and natural resources can be used sustainably.

The findings of the research team have been recently published in the journal ‘Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Engineering of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)’.The research was led by Dr Kala Venkata Uday and co-authored by his MS scholar, Deepak Mori.

Speaking about his research, Dr Uday, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, said, “Our study will be helpful in designing microbial methods to improve soil shear strength at the field scale, to protect the soil from erosion in hilly areas and during geo-disasters. We are also working on the microbe-driven production of construction material from quarry waste.”

The researchers used a harmless bacteria called S. Pasteurii that hydrolyse urea to precipitate calcite. The use of urea is particularly attractive because it does not involve hazardous chemicals and natural resources can be used sustainably. Their experimental setup consisted of a column of sand through which was percolated a mixture of the bacteria and cementing solution comprising urea, calcium chloride, nutrient broth, etc. 

Explaining the research work, Mori, research scholar, IIT Mandi, said, “The Calcite Precipitation Efficiency (CPE) depends on a number of parameters including and not limited to the concentration of the cementing solution, its flow rate through the column, the supply rate, applied pore volume, and the sand grain characteristics. We set out to understand the effects of various parameters on the CPE.”

Since there were numerous parameters involved, researchers used the Taguchi method to analyse the effects of these various parameters on the strength enhancement of soil by MICP. This method involves the use of orthogonal arrays to organise the parameters affecting any process and the levels at which they should be varied. The Taguchi method enables the analysis of many influential parameters without the corresponding need for many experiments.

The study will help in designing microbial